Assam calls for policy road map to boost infrastructure and road development

The major challenges that plagued the region include poor intra-state connectivity and lack of adequate physical infrastructure, said Assam's PWD minister Parimal Suklabaidya

Focused and special polices are key to attracting a greater volume of investments in infrastructure and improving road conditions in the Northeastern region, said Assam’s public works department minister Parimal Suklabaidya. 

“Addressing infrastructure problems has come to be the key focus areas for the Assam governments. Policy makers need to adopt a long-term roadmap for building strong infrastructure in Northeast. This requires a mindset change among infrastructure stakeholders and the use of latest technologies,” Suklabaidya, said at a conference organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on infrastructure here today. 

With road infrastructure in Assam’s Barak Valley (south Assam, which is also the gateway for states of Tripura and Mizoram), in deplorable condition, the minister said long pending issues in that area were now part of the “bigger agenda” of the new government. “It is an agenda of both crisis management and stabilisation of the development in Barak Valley,” he added. 

Suklabaidya said the state to large extent still lagged in terms of physical infrastructure, which pointed to the state’s failure to meet demands on time. The major challenges that plagued the region include poor intra-state connectivity and lack of adequate physical infrastructure needed to connect Northeast with major parts of the country. 

“The Government is aware of the challenges, and both the central and state governments have laid an emphasis on building and developing physical infrastructure,” said Suklabaidya. 

“We are all aware that road maintenance in our state is both challenging and sensitive. I have realised that unless assured and adequate funding is not provisioned and timely and quality works are not executed, the public will continue to suffer due to bad communication,” Assam’s finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said while laying the BJP government’s first state budget in July this year. The budget allocated Rs 2,000 crore to be spent for next three years in the state for road construction and maintenance. 

National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) too has prepared a plan to invest around Rs 35,000 crore for construction and development of 3,586 km of road in the region. 

Experts at the conference felt land acquisition was a major concern in the Northeast which could be mitigated to a greater extent by proper cadastral surveys in the region. 

Abhijit Barooah, co-chairman, CII’s North East Council, said the region was going through a significant transformation in terms of economic and industrial development. “The macro economic outlook of the region is also on a growth trajectory,” he said, adding that fast implementation of infrastructure projects would not only spur economic development in the region, but would also be a major catalyst in realising the centre’s Act East Policy. “A greater focus on development and management of infrastructure in the region is the need of the hour for bringing about significant economic transformation in the region,” Barooah added.